As part of the Krakow History trip, our pupils attended a tour of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Our pupils reflected on the experiences of the prisoners – being guided under the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ gate, into the prisoner blocks, the infamous Block 11 ‘Execution Block,’ before concluding our tour in the gas chambers and crematorium.

Our pupils then visited the Temple of Prayer, wherein they had the incredible opportunity to meet a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Stefania Wernik gave an emotional testimony, in which her mother was spared as a pregnant inmate and gave birth to Stefania within the camp. Stefania was then taken as a young child into the experimentation block under the brutal Dr Josef Mengele. She recalled her horrific experiences here, but also shared some words of wisdom to the pupils of Chase Terrace Academy and future generations: “be kind, lead with your heart, and look after each other – and if we all do this, evil will not prevail.”